Sprint Cup won't be in Kentucky in '09

Saturday

May 24, 2008 at 12:01 AM

SPARTA, Ky. (AP) - Kentucky Speedway will not have a NASCAR Sprint Cup race in 2009, despite a change in ownership to Bruton Smith.

Smith, the Speedway Motorsports Inc. owner, announced Thursday that he had purchased the Kentucky track, located halfway between Cincinnati and Louisville, with the intention of having a Cup race there next season.

But after a sanctioning meeting yesterday, NASCAR officials said it's too late to consider Kentucky for next season.

"The 2009 schedule will not include a Sprint Cup race in Kentucky, regardless of ownership," NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said.

Poston said NASCAR has yet to receive a formal request for a race from Speedway Motorsports, which owns seven other NASCAR-sanctioned tracks.

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and track founder Jerry Carroll were planning to meet with Smith tomorrow during the running of the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

Also being considered for the 2009 Sprint Cup schedule is a three-track swap of race dates. Atlanta would receive the Labor Day race that's currently run in Fontana, Calif.; Fontana would receive Talladega, Ala.'s, fall race; and Talladega would receive Atlanta's fall race.

That move is designed to help Atlanta and Fontana, Calif., which have struggled with weather problems on their dates.

Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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